In this guide I will try to explain the finer points of Tactical Defense, and how some basic math skills will turn an average player into a good one, or a good player into a great one.

First some facts:

Your reflexes are never going to improve.
Your aim will almost certainly never improve.
Your instincts might improve slightly over a long period of time.
Your tactics (and tactical execution) has limitless potential for improvement.

90% of TC:E players I've encountered (No matter how talented) do a poor job of using the environment around them to increase their chances of survival. Every location on every TC:E map has at least one obvious field of fire, but usually far more. Tactical defense (or counter-offense) is all about minimizing (overlapping) enemy fields of fire.

By fields of fire I mean all possible AREAS in DEGREES that you could POSSIBLY be seen or shot from. For example: While standing on the paved road in Village you can be shot from a 360 degree angle. With only a 90 degree field of vision, at the VERY BEST you have a 25% chance of seeing the enemy before they see you. While this is an extreme case, it boggles my mind how many players regularly enter areas such as these in match settings. AVOID OPEN AREAS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

Without using positions on existing maps as references:

Standing against a long wall automatically reduces the field of fire to 180 degrees, or (typically) a 50/50 chance of seeing the enemy before they see you.

Standing in most corners reduces the field to 90 degrees and almost certainly ensures that you will see the enemy at the same time they see you. (again...varies depending on where EXACTLY you're looking at the time)

Its at this point that you SHOULD have the advantage because you will more than likely be in a position of dominance...meaning you might have cover (in the form of boxes, barrels, etc), be crouched or proned vs. them being standing (or running/sprinting), be zoomed while they are unzoomed, etc.

Dominant positions can also be gained while playing counter-offensively. I don't think I can explain this as clearly without pictures but here goes...

One example is clearing rooms & buildings. With each cleared area (space that doesn't reveal an enemy) you're chances of survival (in the short term) increase. Your chances of gaining a dominant position also increase. This is due to the fact that every building or room is essentially the same...they all have entrances and exits, which means they all have chokepoints. Chokepoints are areas where you must ALWAYS expect to encounter overlapping enemy fields of fire.

Using the boiler room on railhouse as an example: When entering via the main door chokepoint (from specops bridge) your immediate chances of survival are very low. There is a 20~ degree field of fire directly in front of you and a 15~ degree field of fire down a long hall to your right. Since your field of VISION between the two fields of FIRE is split by the boilers themselves, you essentially have to roll the dice on which one you're going to tackle. If you take the short hall, you will first risk your life by crossing directly thru the field of fire from the long hall, then possibly facing an enemy in the short hall (most likely with a dominant position over you...i.e. aimed, leaning, etc.). Again...that is IF you survive the exposure to the long hall field of fire.

If you decide to tackle the long hall, you first expose yourself to a field of fire from the short hall, then face an enemy that definitely has a dominant position (leaning around a boiler w/ cover, already aimed). Even if you survive, as you progress down the long hall you open yourself up to fields of fire on your left (gaps in between the boilers) with the possibility that another enemy could re-appear on the right (or even behind you via the short hall at this point).

Of course if you successfully clear these hallways the tables begin to turn dramatically and you gain the dominant positions. However even for the best TC:E players...is an area like that ever worth entering?

Wow someone who actuals thinks as in depth about games as me. That is the sort of thing I try to teach my clan, but they still seem to think that it is ok to go whichever direction they please during games....

Very well done, you've explained that in a way which noobs can't understand and true tactical thinkers can